It's a small amount compared to the money spent in American elections but most Tory candidates would love to be able to match the £90,000 that Zac Goldsmith spent last year in his bid to become the Conservative MP for Richmond Park. Mr Goldsmith, who is thought to be worth £300m, was adopted as candidate in March 2007 and runs his own campaign office - separate from the local Association's office - and employs two members of staff. Over the last year he has fought a high profile campaign against an attempt by Sainsbury's to build a new supermarket.
The scale of Mr Goldsmith's expenditure comes to light in this morning's FT because of a technical breach of Electoral Commission rules. Mr Goldsmith was not on the electoral roll when he gave £7,000 to the Richmond Park Association.
